Coleman frustrated as Stanley forced to settle for draw

Posted Sunday, December 08, 2019 by PA

John Coleman felt his Accrington side should have left Prenton Park with three points, after having to settle for a draw with fellow relegation candidates Tranmere.

Captain Sean McConville gave the visitors an early lead but they were pegged back before half-time when Kieron Morris pulled Rovers level.

Jordan Clark hit the bar for Stanley with 10 minutes to go but the second half could not live up to the excitement of the first, with both sides settling for a draw.

Coleman said: “I think we did enough in the first half to win the game. We had all the chances, deservedly took the lead, could’ve been two or three up, should’ve had a couple of pens.

“I think on the balance of chances we probably shaded it, but they came a bit stronger second half. We had to dig in. We were nowhere near as vibrant and bright with the ball second half.

“Sometimes you have to dig in and take the point and that’s what we did.

“We should have been going in at half-time 3-0 up and we’ve ended up 1-1 with their only shot in the game on goal. That’s the frustrating thing.

“They’ve had a couple of long-range pokes in the second half but not really troubled our keeper and we’ve had a couple of breaks that we should’ve done better with, but sometimes you just have to battle away.”

Playing on the front foot from the off, the visitors took the lead in the 18th minute when Tranmere failed to deal with a corner, allowing McConville to sidefoot home from close range.

With Luke Pilling replacing the injured Scott Davies in goal for Tranmere, Stanley continued to force the issue, but the hosts equalised eight minutes before the break when Corey Blackett-Taylor burst down the left and crossed for Morris to volley home.

Rovers wanted a second-half penalty before Clark’s deft chip hit the woodwork but a draw was the inevitable outcome.

Rovers boss Micky Mellon said: “It was a hard-fought game. I think up to the first half an hour, they were the better side.

“They got the goal and kind of woke us up a little bit. In the last 15 minutes of the half we got ourselves back into it and then equalised. We finished a wee bit stronger than them towards the end of the half.

“Second half I think it was pretty much mostly all us. Both teams competed really hard, just needed that wee break. We might have had a shout for a couple of penalties.

“On the whole, second half, miles better – we just couldn’t find that little opening to maybe separate the two teams.”